


The Scars We Carry

by DarkestOfQueens



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Coming Out, F/F, Lames is there in the beginning to set the story up, Mystery, Near Death Experiences, Sanvers is still together, Slow Burn, Spoilers untl 3x12, SuperCorp is endgame, There is ZERO Romantic Karamel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-15
Updated: 2018-01-30
Packaged: 2019-03-10 12:59:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,586
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13502086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkestOfQueens/pseuds/DarkestOfQueens
Summary: One incident changed the lives of everyone in National City. Lena Luthor, Kara Danvers and the team sift through the wreckage to make sense of it all. What will they find in each other when the dust settles? What will the future hold for them?Supercorp is endgame all the way. This will be a rough and tough road for our ladies. Also, Sanvers never broke up. And Spoilers until 3x12.





	1. Cheers

**Author's Note:**

> All mistakes are entirely mine. So forgive the errors if there are any. I try to catch everything. I don't own Supergirl otherwise Supercorp would be Canon AF if I did. Thank you!
> 
> Also, if you're interested in being a Beta, I need one who's knowledgeable of the Supergirl world. Comment here or hit me up on Twitter @ImpsDelights Thank you again!

She felt good. Everything in her life seemed to be going well for the first time in a long time. Her best friend smiled back. She loved to see her smile. Her new boyfriend was a genuinely a good man. He wasn’t there with them at the moment, but she thought of him nonetheless. Her personal life felt balanced with her professional life. She never thought she could have this. She always poured her soul into her work and her career. She didn’t have the greatest of upbringings in terms of emotional and psychological support. A child needs honesty and comfort, and her family provided neither. With her new loved ones emerged a new family. One that she could have that support. She did indeed feel good. She returned her best friend’s smile.

“Cheers!” she said, “To friends.” They toasted and downed the drink together. “So, what’s next?” she asked.

“Um, well, there’s this new article I’m thinking about writing,” the blonde said unsure.

“Oh, what were you thinking?” she smiled.Somehow this seemed to relax her bestie.

She giggled and adjusted her glasses, “I was thinking about writing a story on the real life heroes we know every day, ones that don’t have special powers or come from a different planet.”

“Are you thinking firefighters or,” she adjusted her blouse a bit unconsciously, “EMTs?”

“I was thinking more along the lines of women who are often overlooked. Like single moms who are heroes to their children every day, but they never get any praise. I think it goes well with the cultural shifts we’re seeing,” she paused. “Hey, you okay?”

“Me? Oh yes, just I think I should have eaten a bit of bread before drinking,” she felt nauseated. She began to see stars and a dizziness began to form. Her legs started to feel unsteady.

“Hey, you okay? Maybe you should take a seat,” the blonde put her hand on the brunette’s forearm to steady her a bit.

“Yes, I think that would be a good, a good,” the brunette swayed and her stomach started to gurgle and burn. She felt acid churn in her chest. She couldn’t articulate this and one last glance to the blonde conveying a thousand emotions in one - something was terribly wrong. She collapsed. She heard shouts. Her body moving in strange ways on the ground, the acid in her mouth. She couldn’t breathe. She was on fire from within. Her thoughts flashed to the blonde now shouting her name and moving her.

She felt like she were floating now, rising faster and faster up. Were these the arms of an angel taking her to heaven? Were these the winds of serenity? She heard her name again and again. Was this God calling her home? She didn’t know. She only knew one thing - she was surrounded by a warmth and love. She never felt so cared and comforted before in her life. She must be dead for who could make her feel this way in life. With this, she accepted this and eased into unconsciousness.


	2. Waiting

It didn’t take long for Kara Danvers to get Lena Luthor to the DEO. In fact, it was probably the fastest she’s ever flown in her life. She didn’t even bother changing into her Supergirl outfit to do it. All she knew was that Lena was in grave danger and she needed to get the unconscious brunette to help. She didn’t care if anyone saw her blow past them in blur. She didn’t care if she were identified as Kara Danvers, reporter for CatCo Worldwide Media, who moonlights as Supergirl. 

Her best friend just collapsed convulsing and foaming at the mouth in front of her. There was nothing for her to do other than to pace around the DEO demanding answers and updates. No bullet to catch. No fire to put out. For the strongest and fastest woman in National City she felt utterly helpless. The only thing she could do was to give the doctors and team a clue as to what caused this. She handed J’Onn the bottle of wine she drank with Lena. Kara knew whatever caused this lay within that bottle. Of course, the poison or whatever it was, didn’t affect her as a Kryptonian. She was Supergirl. Only thing that could kill her was kryptonite. She didn’t know anything was wrong until she heard Lena’s heart spike within a minute of consumption. Kara prayed to Rao that Lena would be alright. That she got her there in time. 

J’Onn called Alex to come to the DEO despite being put on medical leave for a broken leg. Kara couldn't help it when she saw her big sister and rushed over to hug her and let silent tears fall into her hair. Alex reassured Kara that the DEO was doing everything they could, and that their doctors were the best in the world. Kara resumed her pacing. Alex called Jimmy to come in and informed Maggie of what transpired. Maggie would have to do damage control on the ground at L-Corp. As much as Alex loved Lena, she needed to protect Kara’s identity more.   
.   
Among Kara’s wearing of the ground out pacing, Jimmy didn’t know what to think about the situation. He arrived shortly after being called and remained relatively quiet. He just started to date Lena, and despite being distrustful of her for many months he realized that she wasn’t her brother or mother. Lena proved herself to be a trustworthy person and he let his own discrimination cloud his judgement. He wondered if he hadn’t had such judgements of Lena in the past, would they have dated sooner? Would he have had more time with her if the worst came to pass? He hoped and prayed she would recover. 

Imra, Mon-El and Brainy all watched on through the glass. Winn came up to them perplexed they weren’t helping with all their knowledge of the world and medical advancements. “Why aren’t you helping them?”

They all looked at each other. Kara found this odd as well. Why weren’t they helping? “Brainy, you’re smart. What do you think this is?”

“It’s not our place to interfere with events that need to take place,” he said. 

“Bullshit. Go in and help her!” Kara demanded.

Imra spoke up, “Kara we can’t help.”

“Well, why not! Don’t give them that crap that you can’t interfere. She’s dying!” Kara yelled and pointed to Lena hooked up to numerous machines and a respirator as medical staff worked to save her. 

“Kara, today is the day Lena Luthor dies,” said Mon-El.


	3. What do you mean?

It took Kara, Alex, Winn and Jimmy a half a second to register what he said. “Excuse me, what did you say. That can’t be,” said Alex.

“You’re lying. If you knew that why, why didn’t you stop it from happening! You knew and you didn’t say anything!” Fury engulfed Kara like nothing had before. “You wanted this to happen! What’s wrong with you! I thought you were my friends! Mon-el...Mon-el, how could you.”

“Kara, it’s not that simple,” he started but before he could finish what he said next Kara punch him in the face and he flew backward to hit the wall with a crash. Before anyone else could react, Kara was on top of him again. He pled with her to stop but she couldn’t until a red glow flooded the room and she felt her strength leave her as arms pulled her away from him. 

“Get off of me! What are you doing! How are you doing that!” Kara shouted as Jimmy and J’Onn pulled Kara away from Mon-El.

Brainy walked toward Kara and looked at the lights, “Infrared and ultraviolet radiation mimicked by a red sun. In short, DEO asked me to install a safety measure in case Reign came here. Of course, it could be used against you as well, so I apologize for that.”

“Fine. Let me go. I won’t do anything else. I promise,” Kara wouldn’t do anything else. She just lost her grip on anger for a second. She reasoned somehow that Mon-El could take a beating anyhow. They let go and she stood up as Mon-El wiped blood from his nose and lip. Imra had tissue in hand to help with the blood flow. “Sorry. I got carried away.”

“Yeah, I can see that,” he said as he opened his jaw to feel the soreness of it.

“Why didn’t you stop this?” Kara pleaded to them.

“It’s not that simple, Kara. We didn’t know other than a date. No details of the event in question,” said Imra.

“If I may clarify, Lena Luthor just disappears from the historical record on this day. We always interpreted as that’s the day she passed away,” Brainy explained, “you must understand that it isn’t an exact science, record keeping and history. It’s all a matter of interpretation in the absence of hard evidence.”

“And there’s three thousand years of information to sift through in addition to what happened before since the beginning of human history,” said Imra. 

“Aren’t you a living, breathing computer? Aren’t you supposed to know all this stuff?” said Alex.

“Daily affairs of certain people are important, yes, and I know their details extraordinarily well. However,” Brainy said but Kara cut him off, “Lena is important and don’t you dare say she isn’t.”

Jimmy found this to be a shallow excuse. “You still knew something was going to happen today to Lena and you didn’t give us a heads up.” 

“I mean, we could have had Lena here as precaution,” said Winn. “We have a safe room, we could have protected her.”

“They didn’t tell us because they forgot,” J’Onn read Imra’s mind and heard the guilt overcome her thoughts. 

“You forgot? How could you forget that!” said Kara.

“It’s not that simple Kara. We’ve had a lot on our plate to deal with especially concerning Reign,” said Mon-El. It’s true. It slipped their minds. It puzzled him as to why Brainy didn’t say anything as he remembers everything. But he wasn’t going to bring that up in front of them. 

“Perhaps she won’t die. We aren’t entirely sure to be frank about it,” said Brainy who looked at the pale form of Lena as doctors worked on her. 

“What in Rao does that mean?” 

“First you said that she’s gonna die and now you’re saying you’re not sure. How about you all give us a straight answer.” Alex found their lack of clarity annoying to say the least, and she started to feel angry for Kara. They needed answers and the tip toe dance routine wasn’t cutting it.

“It’s unclear,” started Brainy but just at the moment, the door to Lena’s room opened and the chief medical officer came in. They all surged forward with the exception of Brainy, Imra and Mon-El. 

“What’s wrong? Is she okay? What’s happening?” Kara fired off question after question. 

“She’s stable at the moment,” said the doctor. 

“And” said Alex.

The doctor took a deep breath, “She’s in a coma. It was a neurotoxin that caused this. We were able to keep it from spreading and damaging any more of the tissue, but we’re not sure as to the extent of the damage until we do a full work up. And we won’t know if there are any lasting neurological problems until she is conscious which may never happen.”

It was this last bit that caused the world to close in around Kara. She couldn’t think or process what she heard. All she could think was that she may never talk to Lena again. She looked at Lena through the glass and surged forward “Let me through!” but J’Onn and Jimmy held her back. “I swear if you don’t let me through I’ll blast a hole through that door.” 

“It’s okay. You can go in, but only a few at time,” he said. 

“Give me a few minutes with her alone, please,” Kara asked pleadingly. 

Kara entered her room, shut the door behind her and closed the blinds. She didn’t like that they were all looking at Lena like a zoo animal now that she was stable enough for visitors. She walked over slowly and sat down next to her. If Kara could give her powers to bring Lena back to full strength she would have done so. 

“I’m so sorry, Lena. I’m so sorry. I didn’t know. I should have known something was wrong. Maybe I could have brought you here sooner and you wouldn’t be in a coma or something. I should have, I don’t know,” tears fell from her eyes and she removed her glasses and placed them on her lap. “You should get a food taster from now on like a Queen. How many times have people tried to kill you now?” She tried to smile but it felt wrong. 

She placed her hand on the brunette’s forearm where it was free of any tubes or IVs. “I’m going to find out who did this you and they will pay for it. I promise. Just do me one favor, that’s all I ask. Please, wake up. Lena, you mean a lot to me and I don’t know what I’d do without you. Please. Can you wake up?” Lena’s chest rhythmically rose and fell as the respirator assisted her breathing; her pale face and eyelids remained closed. “I’m so sorry. I should have got you here sooner. It’s my fault.” 

Kara hoped that Lena could hear her.


	4. Now What?

Maggie concluded that if anyone did see Kara pick up and fly Lena off, they weren’t talking, so it stood to reason that no one saw anything which eased Alex and J’Onn. She and Winn erased any and all footage on site containing the rescue but kept copies of it for their own internal investigation. This is where a major source of frustration for them, most of all for Kara. Not a single lead as to the identity of the attempted murderer was found. The bottle was bought from a store in midtown. Lena had it in her L-Corp office for a while and brought it out for a quick toast with Kara. Lena and Sam’s assistants as well as other staff had access to it though they couldn’t narrow down any suspects. No one had motive within L-Corp or CatCo to take out Lena. At least not any motive they could find, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t there. 

A week had passed with no new progress on Lena’s condition, and Kara started to get frustrated. She visited Lena every day with a new bouquet of flowers. She did some reading up on coma patients and found that reading and talking to them helped. That they could listen. She read to Lena. She didn’t know what to read first so she decided to pick something Lena might have read or enjoyed in her younger years - Harry Potter. Kara stopped at the sorting hat scene in the first book and asked Lena what house she would be sort into. Kara always identified with Gryffindor but Pottermore sorted her into Hufflepuff. She thought that was fitting considering she visited and stayed with Lena every day. She mused that Lena would either be Ravenclaw or Slytherin. 

“I hope you don’t mind, but I think you’d be Slytherin. Don’t hate me for it if you think that’s wrong!” she said to the unconscious brunette. “I still think we’d be great friends even if you were in a different house.”

She was ambitious and cunning to say the least but in a good way. The way that makes Lena want to achieve something greater than what her family wanted or had done; she wanted to do good for the world and in small and big ways, Lena had done that. 

“Hey Kara,” J’Onn entered the room. “How are you doing?”

She took a deep breath, set the Harry Potter book down and turned to face him. “I’m all right, considering.”

“I’m afraid I have to inform you that we unfortunately don’t have the capacity to keep Lena here indefinitely.” Kara stood up and crossed her arms. 

“What do you mean?” She didn’t understand or more accurately, refused to accept.

“I mean we have to move her to a more adequately staffed facility, a real hospital or long term care unit. I’m sorry if this is coming as a surprise but the DOD informed me we can’t keep her here now that she’s out of immediate danger,” J’Onn said sympathetically. 

“J’Onn, she is in danger. Whoever did this will want to finish the job and sending her off to a regular hospital will put her in even more danger!”

“I know, Kara. I pleaded with the DOD, but they wouldn’t budge. We have to move her in a few days. We’ll make arrangements for the transportation and where she’ll be going. But don’t worry, I’ll make sure we’ll have some undercover agents and LEOs with her at all times. She won’t go unprotected. I promise.”

Kara knew J’Onn only wished for the best and trusted him as much as she trusted Alex. She agreed to help with the transfer to National City Midtown Hospital, a facility not to far from CatCo and equipped with the best in the city in terms of long term coma patient care. For her safety, Lena’s identity would be concealed and only a handful of staff would know as an added safety measure. Alex and Maggie insisted upon this and Kara wholeheartedly agreed. 

“So, you like these new surroundings? Not exactly cool as the DEOs but you get a TV!” Kara said as Alex smiled. The transfer was smooth sailing. Maggie was outside with two uniformed officers going over the shifts. They were close friends of Maggie whom she trusted to keep Lena’s identity unknown. Maggie came into the room with a sigh. 

“Got the 24/7 security details squared away. No one is getting through without talking to one of the officers,” she said. 

“Thanks Maggie. I appreciate it,” she looked at her watch. “I should get going. Have to be back an CatCo. Thank you both for helping. It means a lot. See ya later.” Kara left as Maggie embraced Alex. 

“I know I don’t say this enough and we’re in a tough line of work. I love you and you mean the world to me. Just want you to know that,” Maggie kissed Alex. 

“I know. I love you too,” she smiled at her fiancé. “Mind if we go to my car. My leg is killing me and it’s more private.” Maggie assisted Alex back to her SUV in the parking deck and settled in the passenger seat. 

“So, I hate to be realistic one, but what if she never wakes up?” Maggie thought it was a strong possibility that Lena could never wake up, and what would it mean for them all.

“One day at a time. I try not to think those thoughts. We never know what could happen.”

“What about Kara?” asked Maggie.

“She’s going to be fine. She lost her whole planet, remember. She’s stronger than she thinks she is,” Alex knew whatever would come, Kara would be strong enough to handle it. 

“Well, I got some information on the toxin,” Maggie pulled out the envelope. “J’Onn gave this to me. I figured you should take a look at it.”

Alex opened and read the information. “Okay, so what’s source on this chemical?”

“This is not exactly a highly controlled substance. I can be made with over the counter chemicals so that’s pretty much everyone in National City,” said Maggie.

“So, it’s a dead end. Great.”

“Not quite. The DEO may have some great tech but when you’re not around, their investigative skills go down the toilet, no offense to them,” Maggie chuckled as Alex snorted.

“Okay, Detective Sawyer,” she smiled, “What did you find out with your superior skills?”

“Not superior, just common sense. I cross checked the manufacturer of the wine and found that the bottle manufacturer is a subsidiary of a E.J.M. Incorporated.”

“Does that mean anything?”

“Yes, it does. Those are Morgan John Edge’s initials backwards and he owns the bottle manufacturer, recycled glass factory just outside of town.”

“But that could just be a coincidence. He owns a lot of companies.”

“Yes, it would be a coincidence if it weren't for the fact that he also owns the winery that makes it. And my CI in his office,” she said but was interrupted. 

“Your CI in his office? You work fast.”

“After he tried to poison all the children in National City, yes, of course I got an informant to keep tabs on that psycho,” Maggie handed over another handwritten piece of paper with dates and times. “See that? He visited the city where the wine is made for a business trip. He rarely goes there according to my CI. But he went there last week.”

“Maggie, this is all circumstantial. His thousand dollar an hour attorneys will laugh at this,” Alex knew men like Edge all too well. They didn’t make stupid mistakes like leaving a trail of breadcrumbs right to their doorstep.

“No, it’s not enough to get him,” said Maggie, “but it’s enough to get the small fish who actually poisoned Lena who just so happens to work at L-Corp and they started shortly after Edge lost the bid with CatCo. We put pressure on the small fish and we’ll catch the big one. That’s how you take out a criminal organization.”

“If you can get him to talk,” Alex would only need one minute with Edge alone. 

“I’m doing this by the book. None of the phone book method, got it,” said Maggie pointedly. 

“All right. We should tell Kara, she should know we have a suspect now,” Alex wanted Kara to know they weren’t just chasing ghosts. They had a substantial lead.

“We can’t. Like I said, by the book. Only reason I’m telling you is that you’re technically an officer of the law and handled other investigations pertaining to Edge. She can’t know that we suspect his involvement, not yet. It may jeopardize the investigation.”

“All right,” Alex didn’t like to keep things from Kara. Guilt seeped in. 

________________

Kara couldn’t really concentrate all week, and it didn’t help that she was starving in addition to worried. She snapped at an assistant for asking to use her stapler. She needed time to think just for minute. She wanted to talk to someone who could help her refocus. And the thought popped in her. She pulled out her phone and dialed the number. 

“Ah, Kiera,” said the woman she missed talking to on days and weeks such as these. 

“Hello, Ms. Grant. How are you?” 

“In desperate need of a qualified assistant who doesn’t get my latte order wrong on a daily basis. But even transferring her would cause a scandal in the papers. But that’s politics for you.”

“Ms. Grant,” Kara paused for second not knowing what to say exactly. 

“Kiera, what is it? You never call me so it must be something important,” said Cat who softened her voice, “I don’t just answer the phone for anyone, you know.”

“Ms. Grant, I could use some advice,” Kara started.

“On…”

“My best friend has been attacked and she’s in a coma and I don’t know who did it. There’s Leslie who just died and my ex boyfriend who I thought I would never see again shows up and is married now.”

“Yes, I heard about Leslie, such a shame. Well, that’s certainly a plateful you have there,” Cat knew Kara wouldn’t just call her without being very troubled. She knew she had to listen and give feedback. “How does that make you feel?”

“I feel,” Kara searched for the word, “Lost. I feel lost and alone.”

“You’re never alone, Kara. You have many people who love and care about you. You will always have that support. Now, that you know that, what are you afraid of?”

“I’m...I didn’t say I was afraid,” Kara blurted out with feigned indignation. 

“We can only feel lost if the future is unknown, and when something is unknown we become afraid and we feel isolated and alone. Clearly, you’re not afraid to call me, which in the past would have terrified you, so, I ask again, what are you really afraid of?”

Kara had to pause for a second. She didn’t know what to say, “I don’t know.”

“Oh come on, you know what it is. So what is it? Is it that zooming Kryptonian with the bad Lady Gaga cosplay?” 

“No, she’s just another person Supergirl has to deal with,” Kara said, “I may lose my friend and I’m afraid I won’t talk to her again or even say goodbye. You know my parents died. I feel...I feel like an orphan again almost but it’s not the same, you know. It’s different this time.”

“Lena Luthor, I see.”

“Wait, what. How did you know that?”

“Oh, Kiera, after all these years you don’t think I know everything about those who’ve worked for me and about the person who bought the company I started?”

“Oh,” Kara shifted uncomfortably.

“It feels horrible right now and you’re afraid of that loss, but you know what, Kara, you’re so much stronger than you give yourself credit for. You can and will overcome this,” she said.

“But what if she dies?”

“We should worry about only what we can control and that outcome is something you can’t control. What you can control is how you process what you’re feeling right now. If I worried about issues I couldn’t control I would have lost my mind a long time ago let alone run a media empire.”

“So, what you’re saying is let it go?”

“I’m saying that you need to channel that energy into something else. Let it drive you forward, but don’t let it take control of the wheel and drive you off a cliff. We don’t need a supergirl out of control.”

Kara stopped breathing. “What? Ms. Grant, I-”

“Kara, you’re going through a rough patch. Yes, I know you’re Supergirl, there’s no need to deny it. You can lift a building from the ground and bullets bounce off of you. This is something you can overcome if you just focus on making the best of it”

“I…”

“Kara, what would Lena want you to do?”

Kara thought on it. Lena would want her to do what Ms. Grant was saying to her, to channel it into something positive and not dwell on it. Lena took her family head on and made a negative into a positive by reclaiming not only L-Corp but her identity. Lena chose to fight it head on and not let it take her over. She took control and made her vision a reality even when she doubted herself. “She’d want me to conquer it.”

“Then by all means, conquer it. You can do anything, Kara, you just have to have a little faith in yourself. I have faith in you. I always have.”

With that, Kara swelled with confidence and pride, “Thank you Ms. Grant.”

“Now, you know what to do, so go do it,” said Cat. She had a inkling about Kara, but she wasn’t going to mention it. Not until Kara came to the epiphany on her own.


End file.
